These organizations will put their grant funds to good use, utilizing them for purposes such as transport costs for 111 puppies or 37 adult dogs, a Rescue-Rehab-Rehome program that removes animals at risk of euthanasia from over-crowded shelters, and spay/neuter procedures for cats and dogs of low-income pet parents.

Can we say road trip? While vacationers across the county hit the road last week in search of grand adventures, one very lucky group of dogs also embarked on the trip of a lifetime.

As part of our national transport program, the ASPCA helped relocate 121 dogs from Southern California to shelters in Oregon and Washington. In partnership with the Shelter Transport Animal Rescue Team (START), we pulled the homeless pets from overcrowded shelters and transported them to partners in the Pacific Northwest, where they are more likely to be adopted.

“Without these life-saving transports, the majority of these dogs would be euthanized,” says Kristen Limbert, Director of the ASPCA’s Animal Relocation program. “Thanks to START’s tremendous efforts in their community, we have no doubt that this group of canines will find loving homes—and we sure are happy to help give them that chance.”

Special thanks go out to Live Oak Bank for providing the funding to be used over the course of this year for select animal transports across the country. If you are interested in adopting one of these transport pups, check out this list of participating shelters.

We work hard to find homes for loveable dogs around the country, doing everything from hosting adoption events to tweeting our tails off. But sometimes these precious pups just need a ride!

That’s why we’re thrilled to announce the successful completion of our work with The Carroll Petrie Foundation Dog Rescue Project, a $1 million initiative to fund much-needed services for over 16,000 shelter dogs and puppies at local shelters across the country. Last weekend, we celebrated this milestone with a “Bon Voyage” event, as the final transport departed Miami-Dade Animal Services with more than 30 dogs and puppies bound for Long Island’s Precious Pups Rescue in Calverton, New York. Visit our photo album to see the adorable pups on their way to brighter futures.

Thanks to the Petrie Project, thousands of dogs got a lift from overcrowded shelters—in states from Florida to California—to areas of the country where they have a better chance at finding forever homes.

“Seeing the assistance we’ve been able to provide to shelters across the country thanks to The Carroll Petrie Foundation Dog Rescue Project has been truly inspiring,” says ASPCA President & CEO Matt Bershadker. “Through this generous donation, shelters were able to provide 16,600 dogs with the life-saving services they needed to get that second chance at finding loving homes.”

According to news reports, Smithfield’s new ownership is primarily intended to export pork products to China, which is prohibited from sending its pork and beef to the U.S due to food safety concerns for both humans and companion animals. Increasingly, American consumers are concerned with the conditions in which their food is produced. Smithfield is one of many companies phasing out gestation crates, horrendous metal-barred cages that keep breeding sows in spaces so tight they cannot even turn around. It had pledged to remove these archaic cages from its international operations by 2022, and we are encouraged to hear the company state that it plans to keep this commitment.

What You Can Do

What can consumers do when faced with difficult issues surrounding food safety and the welfare of animals? Animal health and consumer safety can be encouraged through expanded education. If meat is part of your diet, there are several product-labeling programs that require higher standards of care for farm animals. They include:

Similarly, the government is increasingly responding to consumer demand for more transparency around the conditions in which our food is produced. Just last week, the US Department of Agriculture approved mandatory country-of-origin labeling on steaks, ribs and other cuts of meat that will indicate where the animal was born, raised and slaughtered. This is a huge step in the right direction and will help consumers make informed choices when shopping for their families.

Last weekend as part of the ASPCA Animal Relocation program, 68 lucky dogs took to the skies, leaving Southern California for the Pacific Northwest via plane and even helicopter. They were all headed to areas where we knew they’d be in great demand, giving them the best possible chance at adoption.

But that was only Part One of this transport project. Part Two came yesterday, when 113 dogs—and four raccoons S.T.A.R.T.’s driver happened to find—were loaded into transport vehicles. After dropping off the raccoons at a wildlife rescue, S.T.A.R.T. and the dogs headed for Oregon and Washington.

Riverside County Department of Animal Services waved good-bye to the 113 dogs, and S.T.A.R.T Rescue (Shelter Transport Animal Rescue Team) began the journey up the West Coast.

Today, the dogs arrived in Washington and Oregon, and we’re so excited for them to begin this new chapter of their lives. To see our photos of this transport, check out our Facebook album.

And if you live in Oregon or Washington, be on the lookout for Cali dogs at the following shelters:

Heartland Humane Society in Corvallis, OR

Luv A Bull in Eugene, OR

My Way Home Dog Rescue in Sandy, OR

Safe Haven Humane Society in Albany, OR

Smidget Rescue in Auburn, WA

Snipped in Coos Bay, OR

Willamette Humane Society in Salem, OR

Hopes Haven in Salem, OR

Puget Sound Rescue in Auburn, WA

R.A.I.N. (Rescuing Animals in Need) in Federal Way, WA

Dogs transported Saturday are settling in at Kitsap Humane Society and Seattle Humane Society. Thanks to everyone involved in the successful transport of these pups!